Of boyfriends and pelts
by Ashcat
Summary: A look at Shuichi and K’s early morning routine and the bond they’ve formed via a conversation about Eiri and Shuichi’s vacation. Oneshot


Theme: Response to Jinsai's NON-romantic/NON-sexual relationship challenge. Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or its characters. I do not make any profit from this text.  
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K couldn't stop himself from shouting, "What the fuck did you do to your hair!" as he shook Shuichi's pliant form.

"Stop it K, you're going to wake Eiri," Shuichi pleaded nearly as loudly as K had been yelling. He wrenched himself out of his manager's grip and took a few steps backwards. His normally bubblegum pink hair was now also, brown, green and black. He still had the pink which had faded to a duller greenish pink color, but only on the last 4 inches of his hair. The rest was an ugly mottled black and brown mixed together for the first inch of hair – making him look more like a dirty animal pelt than a sexy rock star.

K kept the murderous glare but didn't reach out to grab Shuichi again. "What the hell happened?"

"I was busy and in the sun a lot during our vacation," Shuichi explained, unable to suppress a smug smile. "We rented a bungalow on one of the smaller Fiji islands – to avoid the press and fans."

"Ah, so that's where he kidnapped you to," K said. He now noticed that Shuichi's skin was much darker than usual, the singer was totally bronzed and from what he could see under the skimpy tank top, he didn't have any tan lines.

"So anyways, I didn't get to leave the house much," Shuichi blushed remembering why. "We played a game – I was the maid and Eiri the master of the house, he enjoyed having me at his disposal."

K rolled his eyes as he responded, "I'm sure he did."

The singer gave K a glare as he continued, "I haven't had a chance to get my haired dyed. We just got in last night!"

K frowned before replying, "What happened to your skin?"

"Well, maids don't wear clothes," Shuichi sheepishly mumbled, looking away.

K choked, "WHAT?"

"Well, I was Eiri's maid and he kept saying something about easy access," shrugging his shoulders he continued. "So I spent most of my time on my knees by his side while he wrote or read, and I put on sexy shows to amuse him," at this Shuichi began to demonstrate.

K watched as Shuichi closed his eyes and sensuously ran a hand from his throat down to his boxers, while slowly circling his slim hips. K wondered how he could make use of Shuichi's little inspiration for future choreography as the singer licked his lips suggestively, his other hand started to snake into his boxers.

"Don't I look more exotic now?" Shuichi asked, eyes popping back open and stopping mid grope.

"Well at least you didn't get burned like your last vacation."

Shuichi smiled, "Eiri rubbed tanning oil into my skin so I wouldn't burn."

K growled as he pulled the singer, dragging him towards the closet and flipping on the light inside. "I told Seguichi not to give you a month off, but nooo after your last six month tour he said you deserved it!"

"Waaah K, don't say that – Eiri just missed me," Shuichi whined.

Now that K was closer he could see the patchwork of bite marks and bruises dotting Shuichi's neck and chest. "Fuck, did he try to eat you as well?"

The singer blushed, but it didn't show up well with his new bronzed look. "Now K, you know Eiri, he likes to make sure everyone at work remembers who I belong to when he has to give me back." Shuichi grinned before continuing, "He likes to pretend that he likes me being out of the house so much, but I know he'd love to chain me to the bed and keep me here all the time if he could."

K flung a t-shirt and shorts at him in reply. "Well he can't have you all the time, get dressed it's time for work."

Shuichi quickly dressed, and K went to grab the singer's backpack from the hall closet. Shuichi leaned in and gave Eiri's sleeping form a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out into the foyer to meet K. Truth be told, he had missed the loud manager. Their morning routine was comforting after all the time they had spent together. He was able to confide in him during their special morning time, and he knew that K actually cared for him beyond his dollar value, due to these exchanges.

It was always different between the men once they got into the car. It was as if a small aura had been projected around them of calm and companionship. Over time Shuichi had started to look towards K for advice and as a sounding board about his relationship with Eiri. After all, K had a lot of experience in communication issues due to juggling his marriage to Judy and being a father to Michael despite the ocean that separated them.

Shuichi picked up their conversation in a more subdued tone as he watched the streets of Tokyo whiz by. "You know K, I'm not as stupid as people think I am. I know why Eiri needed me to play the silly games with him during our vacation," Shuichi smiled remembering their time together.

"You both need each other; especially since Yuki-san isn't much of a talker. I'm sure you being on tour makes it harder for him to express his feelings."

Shuichi snorted at K's words, "You can say that again! Eiri nearly went crazy without me - he needs me to remind him that he's loved."

K grunted agreement as he calmly drove through the frantic streets. "So you agreed to his 'maid' game because you knew how much he needed to reassert his possession of you?"

Shuichi nodded before remembering that K wasn't looking at him. "Yes," he replied; following it up with something that had been weighing on his mind. "K, I feel like so much of me is given to everyone else. We are pushing so hard for Bad Luck to outstrip Nittle Grasper. We do all kinds of advertising and marketing tie-ins from underwear endorsements to breakfast cereal."

"We have a concept meeting with Ezaki Glico(1) about a new Pocky contract later today in fact," K interrupted.

Shuichi sighed before continuing, "Besides that, I also do radio, TV, and magazine interviews, and have all kinds of provocative photos taken of me. Then I go on tour for months where I can't even fly home once during them. Sometimes I wonder if Eiri feels like nothing is left especially for him."

"Now don't get all melancholy on me. Your enthusiasm is the heart of Bad Luck. Don't you want to be a star? You said your dream was to be bigger than Nittle Grasper." K replied as he expertly maneuvered them through heavy morning traffic.

Shuichi smiled wanly, "Yes, that is my dream and we are slowly achieving it. I just didn't realize what the costs were before this all got started."

"Don't you think Yuki-san wonders these same things? He has promotional tours and book signings. He's the heart throb of thousands of school girls. Yet, you still manage to have a piece of him all to yourself. No one ever gets to see the real _Eiri_ but you and maybe Tohma-san." K looked over at the singer as they stopped at a red light. "Besides, don't forget that he's the only thing that seems to ground you when you get into your mood swings. I know the separation of being on tour was hard on you as well."

"I love him, of course it was hard to be away from him." Shuichi grinned, his enthusiasm returning as he got caught up in his vacation memories. "Eiri was so affectionate – allowing me to lay my head in his lap as he read by the sea, occasionally running those long fingers through my hair," shivering, the singer revealed in the memory.

K smirked, "Knowing you two, I'm sure you spent a lot of time in his lap and bed. After all, Yuki-san seems to like to use his body to express his feelings"

Shuichi nodded but kept the details to himself. He had been shocked at how insatiable Eiri had been in bed; taking the singer at least twice a day until he was afraid he couldn't take anymore! Shuichi winced remembering how he had gotten creative with his other body parts to give his bottom a rest for a couple days.

Picking back up the conversation, Shuichi continued. "Well it is reassuring that he wants me so badly, it means he isn't cheating on me." Indeed Shuichi had never seen the novelist so 'needy' before.

"Well he did come see you during the tour," K smirked at the memory. "He sure did give the make up people hell, expecting them to cover up all those damn hickeys!"

Shuichi self consciously touched his currently marked neck "Well, he does tend to get rather, wild when it's been awhile." He turned suddenly turned to K, "I couldn't believe he had the audacity to say that those monthly visits were due to sexual deprivation!" Shuichi thought that the blond had come to rely on him for his love and calming effects, but he knew that the libido did play into it as well.

"Of course that wasn't all he wanted. Yuki-san needs you even if he's too stubborn to admit it." K smiled over at Shuichi. "Now we need to get that pelt fixed into something presentable and make sure you can still wiggle into your costumes. I think Yuki-san's cooking has made you fat!"

"Hey! I'm just as skinny and sexy as ever, take that back!"

K chuckled, "I'm glad you had a good trip."

Shuichi smiled before settling down into the seat. "Thanks for making sure nobody was around to bother us and for the time off, K," he replied.

K's booming laughter filled the car as he pulled into the studio parking lot. "That's what friends are for right?"

Shuichi glomped K after they got out of the car, "That's right!"

K gave him an affectionate pat on the head before roughly shoving Shuichi off of him and towards the doors. "Now let's get a move on, before someone snaps a picture of that mess on your head!"

Owari

A/N: Thank you ffpanda for being such a wonderful friend and great beta, you always remind me what friends are for! Despina thanks for inspiring me to actually write for this challenge with your great fic, and for being honest about the first draft of it –you're good at those kicks in the butt and at being a great friend!

I am working on a sequel to Consequences, but it is slow going – hope to have my June drabble out next.

1 - Ezaki Glico is the company that manufactures Pocky brand snacks. At the local Asian food store in my area they have Hello Kitty co branded Pocky boxes so why not Bad Luck.

Thank you for reading – reviews appreciated!


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